


The Aftermath

by WritLarge



Series: Easter '68 What If? [1]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-03
Updated: 2015-08-03
Packaged: 2018-04-12 19:15:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4491495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritLarge/pseuds/WritLarge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Bunny discovered that Jack had stuck around after the blizzard and tried to help fix the mess he'd made?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> Discovered a bunch of drafts in a folder with Easter 68 what if scenarios that I wrote prior to The Winter Burrow. Figured I'd try polishing some of them up.

“You’re still here.” The voice that grumbled behind Jack caught him off guard.

“Uh, yeah.” There was nothing he could say really. He’d lost control and messed up. Jack had never created a blizzard before and now, well, he had the worst timing possible apparently. Sorry seemed a bit inadequate for ruining Easter for the most of the Eastern Seaboard.

The Easter Bunny stalked over to where he was standing, a hill overlooking one of the harder hit towns. Jack had already done his best to stop the snow and mitigate the damage. His powers weren’t that strong, but he tried. 

“Power back up yet?” The giant rabbit looked sideways at him, twitching an ear and shivering slightly. He must have been out in the cold for a while. 

Jack nodded. Aside from moving the more dangerous piles of accumulated snow, he’d focused on helping power crews. He knew what freezing to death looked like. As long as there was electricity there would be shelters and warm homes. Jack reached out with his power and pushed so that the coldest of the air shifted away, flowing around them. The Easter Bunny blinked and looked at him questioningly.

“Sorry,” Jack wasn’t an eloquent speaker. He could sass with the best of them, but he rarely had anyone to listen to him just talk. 

“Hmmm.” The glare was gone now. “This ever happen before?”

Jack shook his head violently. 

“No way! Do I look like one of those winter storm assholes?” His tone fell somewhere between demanding and pleading. “I wouldn’t hurt anybody. Well, maybe a few bruises or something, but nothing like this. Never.”

“Right,” the Easter Bunny acknowledged and nodded curtly. “Did you know-“

“No!” Jack answered with wide eyes. “I didn’t know it was Easter. I can never keep track. You keep changing the date!”

“Not me, mate,” the grey rabbit-man huffed amusedly and smiled, stiffness easing from his posture. “Take it up with the humans. Most years, I have to do this twice, what with Orthodox Easter and all.”

Jack smiled back tentatively. This was much better than the angry yelling and vicious boomerangs from earlier. Now that he had the opportunity to really look, Jack noticed that the Easter Bunny was less like a bunny and more of a sleek and muscled hare, aside from being clearly humanoid. Taller than Jack, he wore little, covered instead with thick grey and white fur. There were dark markings like tattoos as well. He looked soft and fierce. Jack knew the spirit could kick his ass, but he also looked like he’d be able to cuddle him to death too. His fingers itched to touch, to feel the ruffled fur against his skin, to make contact with something other than snow and ice and wind.

He kept them safely wrapped around his staff instead.

The Easter Bunny was watching him carefully, curiously maybe? Jack decided to try for a better second impression and took a deep breath.

“Jack Frost,” he said, holding out his hand. He was pretty sure he’d told him his name already when they’d been yelling at each other over the blizzard, but best to start fresh, right? The chance for making a friend, an acquaintance even, made his heart pound hopefully in his chest.

The Easter Bunny looked down at the hand and back up at Jack’s face. For a moment, Jack was afraid he’d be snubbed.

“E. Aster Bunnymund.” A warm hand, or paw, grasped his.

“Seriously?” The exclamation slipped out before Jack could stop it. He glanced up in horror at the Easter Bunny, who was clearly trying not to laugh.

“Yeah,” Bunnymund let go of his hand and ran a paw over his face. “Most just call me Bunny.”

“Bunny.” Evening was settling in and Jack could see the streetlights coming on. There were a few intrepid souls outside, digging through the snow. Bunny was less tense now. Tired, probably, with it being the busiest day of the year for him and then having to cope with a blizzard on top of that. “Guess you must be pretty worn out, huh?”

“Nah. Just winding down. Still too ramped up from everything to crash just yet. You?”

“Oh. I don’t sleep a whole lot. Not during winter anyway. It’s getting warmer, though-“ Bunny snorted here. “Okay, yeah. It will be getting warmer. Soon. Anyway. In summer, I tend to sleep a lot through the heat.”

“You don’t go south?”

“What? Across the equator?” Jack shuddered. Again Bunny eyed him speculatively.

“I can get you down south without all that fuss. You’d be apples in Antarctica, though bored as hell probably. New Zealand has some nice glaciers if you like that sort of thing.”

“Really?!” It was a fantastic offer, but Jack knew he couldn’t leave the area like this. Not yet. “Maybe in another week or two? I-“

“You want to keep an eye on this mess ‘til it’s sorted,” he finished for him. “Good on ya.”

The Easter Bunny’s approval warmed him. The giant rabbit seemed to pause a moment before turning to go.

“Wait,” Jack called out. “Look, I know I’m not always the most, umm, responsible type, but I’m usually more fun and snowball fights than blizzards, so…”

“So?” An ear angled in his direction.

“So, maybe I can make it up to you somehow? For completely snowing in your holiday.” And maybe they could be friends if Bunny would give him a chance?

“Ha! You’d have to work harder than this to manage that,” Bunny snorted.

“Hey, for an accident, this is pretty impressive, don’t you think?”

“You’ll make an impression on my fist in a minute, ya larrikin.” It was a half-hearted threat. Jack had clearly been downgraded to a minor and somewhat amusing annoyance. 

“You’d have to catch me first,” Jack teased him a little. Bunny raised an eyebrow at the implied challenge.

“You’re surprisingly quick on that wind of yours. How’re your reflexes?”

“My-” Before Jack could, a react paff of colour struck his chest. He’d been egged! Rainbow colours swirled together and dripped down his front where the little pastel paint grenade had struck. Clearly the Easter Bunny was going to be way more fun than anticipated. Jack had never had anyone banter or tease with before. He could count the actual conversations he’d had on one hand. 

“Oh, we’re throwing things now are we?” he grinned wickedly as he froze the damp colour on his chest and let it flake off onto the ground. Jack scooped up snow and sent rapid-fire snowballs at Bunny, who was kept too busy dodging or batting them away to retaliate.

“All right, all right! Cease fire already,” Bunny begged off. Jack laughed and leaped up to settle on his staff while Bunny dusted the few snowballs that had landed from his coat. “So, how are you going to make it up to me then, eh? I’ve no need for ice or snow in my Warren.”

“No? I’m an excellent decorator,” Jack offered. The Easter Bunny just rolled his eyes.

“I’ve got enough ferns. Real ones, thank you.” He recognized the dig at his usual frost patterns, which were traditional and far from the only thing he could create. He jumped down from his staff and stirred up a little snow, letting it form shapes in the air.

“Oh, I’m much more versatile than that.” 

“Huh,” Bunny watched his creations with interest. 

“But if you don’t like the cold, I could help you out in other ways. Cleaning, organizing, changing your straw, filling your water bottle…” the unimpressed look conveyed how often Bunny had heard these jokes before. “Yeah, okay. Old material huh? Seriously though, I can clean. Post-Easter must be a disaster at your place. Plus, I bet you can’t reach all that fur. I could groom you.”

Bunny’s eyes went wide at the suggestion and Jack realized that he might have crossed an unseen line. The Easter Bunny blinked and then, cocking his head slightly, looked Jack up and down. 

“You could, could you?” Bunny’s voice had dropped the teasing tone entirely. 

Jack tried to tamp down the blush that was building underneath his skin, ducking his head and fidgeting with his staff. He wasn’t completely naïve. He’d watched human couples before and he knew what a look like that implied. Jack had no words to respond though, because he’d never had anyone to flirt with let alone… well. 

“Easter Bunny. Symbol of hope, spring, and fertility,” Bunny stressed the last word. “Grooming’s a fairly intimate suggestion where I’m from.”

“Oh.” Wow. This morning Bunny had been trying to beat Jack senseless (somewhat justifiably) and now he was smiling at him and not actually rejecting the offer. Grooming. Which meant touching and probably other things. The small shiver ran up Jack’s back and into his hair had nothing to do with the cold. 

“If that’s what you actually intended?” Jack managed a tiny nod when he realized Bunny was pausing for a response, because even though it hadn’t been, he was happy to go along with the idea. “Well, we should maybe start a bit slower then. We only met this morning.” 

Bunny’s warm green eyes matched his smile and Jack lost the battle with his blush. Dammit. He’d been hoping for a tentative friendship, but this… this could be good too. Wow. Jack hadn’t even kissed anyone before. He’d always wanted to. Wanted to know what it would be like to be close to someone like that. Humans certainly seemed to like it a lot.

He must have gotten distracted, because Bunny lightly grasped his shoulder to get his attention.

“Jack?” Oh. Jack’s other hand came up automatically and his fingers sank into the fur of Bunny’s chest. 

“You’re so soft.” Bunny chuckled at the unintended slip and Jack yanked his hand down.

“No worries, mate.” 

“Sorry. Sorry, I’m not really used to this.” Jack gestured but he didn’t pull away. The warmth of Bunny’s hand radiated through the material of his hoodie. “No one touches me, you know?”

“Hmm,” was all Bunny said before he slipped his arms around Jack’s shoulders and pulled him into a loose hug. 

“All right?” God yes, Jack nodded, his arms going hesitantly around Bunny’s middle. He sighed and let himself revel in the embrace. Hugs were great, he decided.

“Do you eat?” Bunny asked. 

“Yeah,” Jack answered. He did sometimes, here and there. Wait, what do giant rabbits eat? Jack’s train of thought veered off into lettuce territory, snapping back on track when Bunny gave him a gentle squeeze and shifted away.

“Come on then. Things seem well enough in hand for now. We can grab some tucker and check in tomorrow to make sure the weather stays clear.” Bunny let go entirely and for the first time he could remember, Jack missed the lack of warmth. Bunny had said we. That sounded pretty good. Jack had never been part of a “we” before.

Thumping the ground, Bunny gestured at the hole that appeared. Jack could see a tunnel leading down and angling away from the surface. 

“Goes to my place. The Warren. Don’t worry. It’s mostly Spring-ish there. Shouldn’t be too warm for you. Figured we’d have time to eat and chat before the day catches up with me.” Yeah. Jack could handle that. Eat and chat. And maybe work up to the grooming thing later? 

“Sounds good. Do I just-?” What? Step in? Dive in? Crawl in? Underground tunnels weren’t something he had much experience with.

“Hop in and enjoy the ride.” Hop. Of course, Jack smiled to himself. Peering at it again, he could see how the tunnel curved wickedly a few feet below the surface in a massive downward slide.

“Looks like fun,” he grinned at Bunny, before taking the leap and discovering that it was just as slide-like as he’d hoped. Jack whooped in delight. The day had turned out better than he could have imagined.

Best blizzard ever.


End file.
